The first-generation Rolls-Royce Phantom, known as the ‘New Phantom’, created in 1925 and was the benchmark of road-going luxury and widely regarded as ‘The Best Car in the World’.
In 2003, some 78 years later, the launch of the Phantom VII – the first Goodwood Phantom – heralded the renaissance of Rolls-Royce and which soon established its own legacy, as the preferred mode of motivation for the world’s most famous, wealthy and influential people. The imposing yet elegant coachwork combined with a then new aluminium spaceframe, propelled by a magnificent whisper-quiet 6.75L naturally-aspirated V12 Rolls-Royce engine provided the crux to revive both the model and the brand.
Behind Phantom VII’s emblematic coach-doors lay an exquisitely interior crafted with only the finest materials by a new artisanal workforce drawn from the local area’s boat-building and saddle-making industries. For the first time since the age of the coachbuilder, patrons of luxury were offered true personalisation through the marque’s Bespoke programme, with Phantom serving as an exquisite blank canvas to express individual visions.
And by perfecting the art of excess, the Rolls-Royce Phantom reestablished itself as the ‘Best Car in the World’.
After 13 years of defining luxury, the production of the Rolls-Royce Phantom VII comes to an end and to commemorate this BMW-owned luxury car manufacturer has created the final Rolls-Royce Phantom VII, a distinct and exquisitely appointed variant of the extended-wheelbase limousine.
In which they have incorporated the art of marquetry, depicting a stylised 1930s ocean liner, reflecting the fascination with design and iconography of this grand era. The nautical theme continues with the application of tone-on-tone embroidery to the interior’s Powder Blue leather reminisces the movement of the sea. The design of the clocks, featured in the front cabin and the partition wall echo the style of the radio clocks that adorned grand ocean liners. The Bezel, expresses 24 time zones and is reminiscent of HG Well’s time machine, allows the owner to rotate it in either direction depending on where they find themselves in the world. The maritime theme continues with the lambswool carpets which feature a hand-cut wake effect – symbolizing that this final Phantom has passed, leaving the world in its own wake, presumably.
The exterior is finished in a Blue Velvet, completed with a twin coachline with ocean liner motif to the shoulder, and offset beautifully by pinstripe tyres and a solid silver Spirit of Ecstasy.
The completion of this final motor car, and the decommissioning of the Phantom VII after 13 years, sets the stage for the new Phantom VIII and its all-new aluminium architecture.
